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Redknapp: These two games decided Arsenal’s season

Jamie Redknapp has identified the two games which decided Arsenal’s fate this season.

The Gunners’ 0-0 draw with Sunderland means that only Leicester and Tottenham can win the Premier League title this campaign, with Arsenal’s challenge falling away since February.

The club now face a battle to qualify for the Champions League, with Manchester United five points behind both Manchester City and Arsenal. Louis van Gaal’s men have a game in hand, and the Gunners must still visit the Etihad Stadium on the penultimate weekend of the season.

Speaking to Sky Sports after Sunday’s disappointing stalemate, Redknapp identified the 3-2 defeat against Manchester United, which came after beating Leicester to close the gap to two points of the summit in the previous game, and the loss to Swansea in the next game as the two decisive matches in Arsenal’s season.

“The games where they needed to show something were Manchester United away, when five or six of their top men weren’t playing, and Swansea – but they disappointed,” Redknapp said.

“They remind me a bit of the Liverpool side that I played in where we were full of quality but we didn’t have that edge.

“Wenger speaks about hunger and opportunity, how a lot of these players haven’t been through the ‘red carpet’ and I agree with that.

“But Tottenham’s players have and look at the hunger and desire they’re showing. They look full of energy and that has to come from the manager – he has to set the hunger. Barcelona have hunger and look how well they play.”